Baby gate operable hands free by designated persons

ABSTRACT

A baby gate assembly which opens automatically only when detecting a designated person, by IR detection, RFID tagging or voice recognition. One or more IR detectors are mounted on a telescopic mast, enabling designation by height selection and the sensed signal compared with a datum or another IR facing in an opposite direct to provide signal operating reversible stepping motor to unlatch the gate. The control circuitry maintains the gate unlatched for sufficient time for the designated person to push open and walk through the gate in a hands free operation. A pedal release mechanism is also enabling unlatching during a power cut. The automatic and pedal unlatching mechanisms are linked for lost motion permitting independent operation.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

Priority is claimed from our provisional application No. 60/926,062filed Apr. 23, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a baby gate assembly for bridging a passageway.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Baby gate assemblies have been in widespread use worldwide for manyyears. However, the prior baby gate assemblies may suffer from variousdisadvantages such as the inability to distinguish automatically betweenan infant who must not be allowed to pass through the gate and an adult;the inability of ‘hands-free’ operation; or a requirement for atechnician or skilled operative to fix the gate in position bridging apassageway, especially as passageways can differ in width, which can benot only time consuming and costly but prevent the baby gate beingreadily moved by the family from place to place in the home.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention are to provide a baby gate assembly whichopens for only designated persons so that infants, in particular, cannotpass therethrough.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bay gate assembly whichenables hands free operation by only designated persons so that they maypush open the gate using their bodies enabling them to operated the gatewhile both hands are occupied by carrying bulky objects such as bedlinen or towels.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a baby gate whichcan be readily manually adjusted on site by the user to fit passagewaysof different sizes and can readily be moved between different locationsin the home.

According to one aspect, a baby gate assembly comprises:

a barrier frame for bridging a passageway and defining a U-shapedgateway;

a gate mounted in the gateway for swinging movement between open and

closed positions, respectively, out of and into alignment with theframe,

cooperable latching means on the frame and gate engagable to releasablylock the gate in the closed position;

means on the frame for detecting the presence of a designated (adult)person adjacent the gate and for automatically disengaging the latchingmeans to unlock the gate to permit the designated person detected toopen the gate by hands free operation and to walk through the gatewayand for automatically re-engaging the latching means to lock the gatewhen the designated person is no longer detected adjacent the gate;

and, a pedal mechanism on the frame operably connected to the latchingmeans to disengage the latching means to permit a (designated) person toopen the gate by hands free operation and to walk through the gatewaywhen the designated person detecting means is inoperable.

The means for automatically disengaging the latching means may comprisea reversing stepping motor operated by signals received from thedetection means.

The pedal mechanism is provided only to ensure that the gate can beopened when the automatic gate unlocking means is inoperative, forexample, either because of a malfunction or as a result of exhaustion of(battery) power.

The gate is normally spring biased to return to the closed position. Theautomatic gate unlocking means retains the latching means in thedisengaged position throughout detection of the person and for a coupleof seconds afterwards to provide sufficient time for the biasing meansto return the gate in to alignment with the frame so that the latchingmeans are aligned for re-engagement, before returning the latching meansto the re-engaged position. When the pedal mechanism is used however,the latching means will be returned to the engaged position as soon asthe pedal is released.

The person may be designated by their height, to prevent an infantactuating the gate opening means, or by a wireless transmitter or otherremotely detectable tag on the person's body. Alternatively, a voicerecognition system may be used with the automatic unlocking mechanismincluding a memory circuit mounted on the gate and which can be trainedto recognize a particular persons voice thereby to designate thatperson.

The pedal is spring biased so that it cannot be depressed to release thelatch by an unaided infant.

When designation by height is required, the gate unlocking means maycomprise at least one infra-red detector positioned to detect andrespond only to infra red from a source at a height corresponding to abody height of an adult, and not below such height,

The infra red detectors may be mounted on a telescopic mast to permitthe detection height to be adjusted as desired when the gate assembly ismounted in a passageway, to accommodate people of different height.Suitably, the detection angle extends from the horizontal plane upthrough a conical angle of 60 degrees and the detection distance forbody temperature is approximately 0.5 meter.

Suitably, two infra red detectors are mounted facing in respectiveopposite directions on respective opposite sides of the gateway todetect the presence of adults adjacent either side of the gate.

The operational threshold or sensitivity may be a predetermined fixedamount or derived from a comparison of the infra red intensitiesreceived by respective detectors

More particularly, the U-shaped gateway comprises opposite vertical gateposts joined by a transverse step, one side edge of the gate beingpivotally mounted to one gate post and the latching means comprisingcatch means on an opposite free side edge of the gate and a cooperatingcatch member mounted on the gate post for movement into and out fromengagement with the catch means.

Preferably, the catch member on the frame is linked for lost motion toboth the automatic gate unlocking means and the pedal mechanism so thatwhen either one of the automatic gate unlocking means and the pedalmechanism is operated to move the catch member to an unlocked position,the other of the automatic gate unlocking means and the pedal mechanismis not moved by the catch member.

Preferably, the pedal mechanism comprises a pedal operatively connectedto depress one end of a rocking lever and the catch member comprises arod formed with an axially extending slot with a top blind end andmounted for vertical, axial sliding movement on the gate post and havinga lower end aligned over an opposite end of the rocking lever, theautomatic gate unlocking means having a horizontal spigot received inthe slot adjacent the top blind end for vertical relative slidingmovement, operation of the automatic gate unlocking mechanism raisingthe spigot and thereby the rod away from the lever to disengage thecatch and unlock the gate without moving the pedal mechanism and so thatdepression of the pedal will rock the lever to raise the rod todisengage the catch and unlock the gate, with relative vertical slidingmovement of the spigot in the slot thereby obviating movement of theautomatic unlocking mechanism. When the spigot is lowered to thelatching position, the rod falls under gravity lowering the catch memberon the frame into latching engagement with the catch means on the gate.

The motor means comprises a reciprocal stepping motor and the spigot iscarried by a rack gear plate linked to the motor for verticalreciprocation between upper and lower position actuating detectingmicroswitches.

The frame has width adjustable, wall mounting means comprising threadedrods threadingly mounted on the frame to extend longitudinally fromopposite sides so as to be axially extensible by manual rotation tobring respective fee ends into jamming engagement with opposite walls ofa passageway thereby mount the baby gate assembly in passageways ofdifferent widths, doorways or between a wall and stir posts.

Locking thumbwheels may be provided to prevent accidental rotation ofthe threaded rods locking them in a selected axial position ensuringreliable retention of the bay gate assembly in position.

This structure also enables the baby gate to be readily moved from placeto place in the home simply by manually loosening the threaded rodlocking thumbwheels and rotating the threaded rods.

An extension frame may be also be added on to the frame assembly whenrequired.

The gate comprises a metal frame with a removable (zipped) cover of softfabric removable for replacement when worn or for cleaning.

As an alternative to detection of body heat infra red, a person may bedesignated using a HFID trigger, in which an external RFID transmitterwith a security code, which constitutes an identification codecarried/worn by the user and generates a radio frequency signal detectedby to a receiver mounted on the gate assembly. Thus, the gate cannot beunlocked by an infant without an RFID transmitter. The major structureof the gate assembly is similar to that for PIR except the PIR detectorsare replaced by the HF signal detector/RFID trigger. The same range of0.5 meter is adopted.

In practice, the transmitter unit can be tied/worn on the hand like awrist watch, hung on the waist belt, hand held, or pocketed. Thereceiver unit must be installed on the side of the gate assembly.

PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described by way ofexample only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the gate assembly with the gate ina closed position, but unlocked;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the gate assembly with thecover omitted for clarity;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of part of the gate assembly without thecover and with the gate closed and latched/locked;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the barrier frame of the gate assembly;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the barrier frameshowing the motor, gears and antenna/mast for carrying the PIR detectorsat the top;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the gate andbarrier frame showing the upper hinge mechansim;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view from a different angle than FIG.5 of the motor, gears and antenna/mast for carrying the PIR detectors atthe top;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the motor housing/gearbox/battery boxand antenna;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary exploded view of the movable latching mechanismon the barrier frame showing that the spigot of the rack gear plate isreceivable for limited free relative vertical movement in the verticalslot in the latching rod to permit lost motion between the rod and thegear plate;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of the hinge of the open gateand the barrier frame showing the compression of the biasing (return)spring between the respective hinge members;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the transverse step/ramp andpedal mechanism for unlatching the gate;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the ramp/step with the pedals mountedtherein;

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of the gate frame and the softfabric cover disassembled by unzipping therefrom;

FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view of the gate frame and the softfabric cover assembled therewith;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing the main mechanical operating steps;

FIG. 16 is a bock diagram showing the main operating steps of the PIRsensor and associated circuitry;

FIG. 17 is a diagram of the electronic circuitry for enacting the stepsof FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a schematic elevational view of the latching assembly on thebarrier frame showing the related motor gear and rod movement;

FIG. 19 a is a fragmentary view showing that the spigot of the gearplate is positioned at the uppermost end of the slot in the latching rodwhen the latch is on the latching/gate locking position;

FIG. 19 b is a fragmentary elevational view showing the position of thepedal mechanism when the gate is latched/locked closed and correspondingto the positions of the rod and plate shown in FIG. 19 a;

FIG. 20 is a schematic elevational view of the latching mechanism on thebarrier frame with the rod raised to the unlatched position by operationof the pedal mechanism showing the lost motion between the spigot of thegear plate and the rod so that pedal unlatching is possible when themotor is inoperable;

FIG. 21 a is a block diagram of the RFIC transmitter;

FIG. 21 b is a block diagram of the mains elements of the RFIC receiver;

FIG. 22 a is a circuit diagram of the transmitter;

FIG. 22 b is a circuit diagram of the receiver;

FIG. 23 is a schematic perspective showing an adult person laden withlinen approaching the gate provided with the PIR detection system;

FIG. 24 is a schematic perspective showing the person laden with linenopening the gate by hands free action after detection by pushing thegate open with her body;

FIG. 25 is a schematic perspective showing the range of the PIRdetection;

FIGS. 26 and 27 are schematic perspectives show the gate being returnedto the closed position (by the action of biasing spring) and in theclosed position after the person is clear of the gate;

FIG. 28 is a schematic perspective showing an adult designated bywearing a RFID trigger wristwatch approaching the gate to cause asequence of events similar to those illustrated above for PIR detectionand gate opening.

PARTICULAR DESCRIPTION

As shown particularly in FIGS. 1-4, a baby gate assembly comprises aU-shape barrier frame 14 for bridging a passageway comprising a pair ofspaced apart posts joined by a bottom transverse member surmounted by astep 31 to define a U-shaped gateway and a gate 8 mounted in the gatewayfor swinging movement between open and closed positions, respectively,out of and into alignment with the frame 14.

One side edge of the gate is pivotally mounted to one gate post 14 by alower frame hinge member 15 and an upper, rising butt hinge assembly,(shown also in FIGS. 6 and 10), comprising upper (rising) gate hingemember 11 pivotally mounted for travel along an arcuate ramp surface ofa upper frame hinge member 13 by hinge pin 9 having an helical biasingspring 10 trapped on an upper thereof for compression by gate openingmovement so as to return the gate to a closed position.

Gate latching means comprises a latching rod 2 mounted for verticalsliding movement on a frame post opposite the hinge assembly andcarrying an upper, vertically slotted, frame latch retainer 3 and alower frame latch retainer 5, respectively, holding upper and lower,clevis form, frame latch members 7 and 4, respectively, for latchingreceipt of tab form latch members on catch means 47,44 on the adjacentside of the gate.

As shown in FIGS. 9, 18, 19 a and 20, the slot 300 of the frame latchretainer 3 receives at an upper end, a spigot 240 of a rack gear plate24 reciprocated vertically by pinion gear 21 rotated by output shaft ofstepping motor 23, to raise and lower the rod 2 unlatching and latch thegate, respectively, when the gate is operated automatically, as furtherdescribed below.

In the event of a malfunction of the automatic system or a power cut,the gate can be unlatched by a pedal mechanism, shown in FIGS. 1, 11,12, 19 b and 20, which comprises pedals 37 seated on respectivecompression springs 33 in respective opposite sides of a step/ramp formhousing 31 and operatively connected to depress one end of a rockinglever 32 (FIG. 20) having the other end underlying a lower end of thelatching rod 2. Depression of the pedal will rock the lever to raise therod, raising and disengage the latches 7 and 4 to unlatch the gate. Asthe is spigot of the rack gear plate 24 is located at the top of theslot in the latch position of the mechanism, it is free for relativevertical sliding movement in the slot as the rod is raised to theunlatched position by the pedal operation so that movement of theautomatic unlocking mechanism by gate unlatching operation of the pedalmechanism is obviated.

It will be appreciated also that operation of the automatic gateunlocking mechanism raising the spigot and thereby the rod away from thelever to disengage the latches and unlock the gate does not moving thepedal mechanism. When either the spigot is lowered to the latchingposition by the automatic motor operation, or when pedal pressure isreleased and the pedal is returned by the biasing spring 33, the rodfalls under gravity lowering the latch members on the frame intolatching engagement with the latch members on the gate.

Infra red detectors (not shown) are mounted, facing in oppositedirections, on a top section 16 of a telescopic mast, having middle andlower sections, 17 and 18, respectively of respectively increasingdiameters. The lower section 18 is mounted on an antenna retainer 22 ata top of a battery box 38/39, as shown particularly in FIGS. 5 and 8.Wiring extends internally of the mast, connecting the detectors tocontrol circuitry in the battery box 38/39. Telescopic movement of themast permits the detection height to be adjusted as desired when thegate assembly is mounted in a passageway, to accommodate people ofdifferent height. Suitably, the detection angle extends from thehorizontal plane up through a conical angle of 60 degrees and thedetection distance for body temperature is approximately 0.5 meter.

The frame has width adjustable, wall mounting means comprising threadedrods 12 threadingly mounted on the frame to extend longitudinally fromopposite corners of sides so as to be axially extensible by manualrotation of locking thumbwheels 6 to bring respective fee ends intojamming engagement with opposite walls of a passageway thereby mount thebaby gate assembly in passageways of different widths, doorways orbetween a wall and stair posts.

This structure also enables the baby gate to be readily moved from placeto place in the home simply by manually loosening the threaded rodlocking thumbwheels and rotating the threaded rods.

An extension frame may be also be added on to the frame assembly whenrequired.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the metal frame of the gate is providedwith a (zipped) cover 41 of soft fabric removable for replacement whenworn or for cleaning.

DESCRIPTION OF BLOCK AND CIRCUIT DIAGRAMS WITH PIR SENSORS

Briefly stated, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, blocks 1 and 2 are IRreceivers. In block 3, an IR signal detected by the receivers isamplified and analysed, demodulated in block 4 and shaped in block 5. Inblock 6 the (wave)shaped signal is compared with a preset set controltemperature signal and if higher, triggers the circuit in block 7 todrive the motor forward in block 8 to raise the latching members torelease the gate catches, unlocking the gate also lighting a status LED.

More, specific details of respective circuit blocks are described below:

The PIR sensors circuit (Blocks 1&2) contains sensor 1 (X1 D203s),sensor 2 (X2 D203s),R2, C4 and U2 (regulator AD7130). The U2 (regulatorAD7130) regulates the voltage for the two PIR sensors. The two PIRsensors detect infrared radiation emitted from a human body and aremounted on opposite sides of the top of the antenna/mast facingforwardly and rearwardly of the gate.

The Amplifier with low pass (Blocks 3&5) filter contains U1A, U1B, R4,R1, R3, R25, R26, R27, C6, C5, C9, and C10. U1A and U1B amplify thesignals detected in respective channels with a low pass filter featurefiltering noise.

The Comparator (Block 6) contains U1D, U1C, D3, D6, R5, R6, R7, R29,R30, R28, C11 and C12. The circuit compares the signal level with athreshold value and only triggers the motor drive circuit if thedetected signal exceeds the threshold value. Operational amplifiers U1Dand U1C are Motorola parts LM324.

The bidirectional motor driver circuit (Blocks 7&8) contains Q1, Q2, Q3,Q4, Q5, Q6, Q7, biasing transistors (Q1-Q7), switches SW1, SW2, and U313(Motorola part LM358) Transistors Q1-Q7 determine the direction of motormovement. Comparator's output control U313 is used to prevent a falsetrigger. SW l and SW2 limit the rotation of the motor in each direction.

The LED detection indicator circuit (Block 9) contains Q8, Q9, R22, R23,R24, RI9, ZD, LED1 and LED2. The red LED2 is for battery indication andgreen LED1 indicates IR detection. LED2 remains on to warn of a lowbattery condition. The power supply or battery circuit (Block 10)contains C1, D1, R25, SW3A, SW3B and the battery. SW3A and SW3B is aslide switch with 2 pole-2 position. It is a power on off switch.

Upper microswitch 1 (SW1) (25), (also FIGS. 7 and 18), is amotor-forward status switch, actuation of which by engagement with therack gear plate 24, limits the forward motion of the motor 23 when ithas raised the rod 2 carrying lower and upper clevis form latch members4 and 7 above the tab-like gate latches, releasing them to unlock thegate 8. Lower microswitch 2 (SW2) is a motor-backward location statusswitch also engagable by the rack gear plate 24 to limit the returnmovement of the motor when the rod has lowered the latch members 4 and 7into receiving engagement with the gate latches to lock the gate. Thus,when the PIR receiver detects a person, the collective ID, IC358 pin7voltage will rise to a high level to drive the motor forward to open thegate. (In the meantime the capacitor C2 will be charged). After theswitch closes, signaling the system to stop the motor, the capacitor C2will be recharged through R14 so that Pin 3 voltage level will slowlyincrease until, a couple of seconds after the IR signal indicatingcontinuing presence of a person adjacent the gate is no longer detected,pin3 voltage level will be higher than pin 2. Then the voltage of pin 1will become high and drive the motor backward to lower the rod 2 to lockthe gate, closing lower switch SW2 at the end of travel to stop themotor. The delay provides sufficient time for the gate to be returned bythe biasing spring 10 to the latching position after the person haspushed open the gate and walked through, clear of the gate.

An alternative embodiment utilizing RFID for designation is shown in theblock diagrams of FIGS. 21 a and 21 b in which: the transmitter:

1. Generates a secure code and transmits the instruction

2. Combines the secure code and carrier signal

2a. Generates a carrier signal, carrier frequency (433 MHz for Europeand 303 MHz for USA)

3. Amplifies the carrier signal

3a. Adjusts the transmit distance, and

The Receiver:

-   1. Receives the carrier signal from the transmitter when within 0.5    m-   1a. When the signal is received, the green LED will light up.-   2. Demodulates the signal received signal-   3. Shapes the waveform-   4. Decodes the secure code-   5. If the signal is correct, it will trigger the circuit; if    incorrect, it will be ignored-   6-7. The trigger circuit will drive the motor, so as to open/lock    the upper and lower lock-   8. When the signal is detected, the LED will light up.

The transmitter circuit utilizes 4 pcs IC being part nos PT81977BP soldby Pericom Technologies Inc (Shanghai, Hong Kong and California) fortransmitter encoding and receiver encoding utilizes PT978P also sold byPericom Technologies. LM 358 (Motorola) for the receiver comparator andHT7530 (voltage regulator.

PARTS LIST

-   1 Latching rod cover-   2 Latching rod-   3 Upper frame latch retainer-   4 Lower frame latch member-   5 Lower frame latch retainer-   6 Thumbwheel nuts ×4-   7 Upper frame latch member-   8 Gate-   9 Gate hinge pin-   10 Gate Biasing spring-   11 Upper (rising) gate hinge member-   12 Threaded (adjustment) bolt ×12-   13 Upper frame hinge member-   14 Frame (post)-   15 Lower Frame Hinge-   16 Antenna/mast upper section-   17 Antenna/mast middle section-   18 Antenna/mast middle section-   19 Battery cover-   20 Screw-   21 Pinion gear-   22 Antenna Retainer-   23 Motor-   24 Rack gear plate-   25 Microswitch-   26 Gearbox cover-   27 Battery box door-   28 Gearbox-   29 Motor housing-   30 On/Off switch-   31 Ramp/step-   32 Lever-   33 Spring-   34 Pedal cover plate-   35 Screw-   36 Bolt-   37 Pedal ×2-   38 Battery box part-   39 Battery box part

The invention claimed is:
 1. A baby gate assembly comprising: a barrierframe for bridging a passageway and defining a U-shaped gateway; a gatemounted in the gateway for swinging movement between open and closedpositions, respectively, out of and into alignment with the frame,thereby permitting and preventing a person walking through the gateway,respectively, cooperating latching means on the frame and gatereleasably engagable with each other to lock the gate in the closedposition preventing a person walking through the gateway; means on theframe for detecting the presence of a designated person adjacent thegate by detecting a predetermined physical property associated with thedesignated person and for automatically disengaging the latching meansto unlock the gate to permit the designated person detected to open thegate by hands free operation and to walk through the gateway and forautomatically re-engaging the latching means to lock the gate in theclosed position preventing a person walking through the gateway when thedesignated person is no longer detected adjacent the gate latching meansbeing moveable between latched and unlatched positions without movingthe detecting and disengaging means; and, a pedal mechanism operablyconnected to the cooperating latching means when engaged to lock thegate in the closed position, to disengage the latching means to permitthe designated person to open the gate by hands free operation and towalk through the gateway when the detecting and disengaging means isinoperable.
 2. The baby gate assembly according to claim 1 wherein thedetecting and disengaging means comprises a reversable stepping motoroperated by signals received from the detecting and disengaging meansmeans.
 3. The baby gate assembly according to claim 1 wherein the gateis spring biased into the closed position and the means for detectingand disengaging means retains the latching means in the disengagedposition throughout detection of the person and for a predeterminedperiod of time afterwards to provide sufficient time for the spring toreturn the gate into alignment with the frame so that the latching meansare aligned for re-engagement, before returning the latching means to are-engaged position.
 4. The baby gate assembly according to claim 3wherein the pedal mechanism is spring biased into a latched position sothat it cannot be depressed by an infant unaided.
 5. The baby gateassembly according to claim 1 wherein the person is designated by thephysical property of minimum height so that the latching means will notbe disengaged by the presence of an infant.
 6. The baby gate assemblyaccording to claim 5 wherein the detecting and disengaging meanscomprises at least one infra-red detector positioned to detect andrespond only to infra red from a source at a height corresponding to abody height of an adult, and not below such height.
 7. The baby gateassembly according to claim 6 wherein said at least one infra reddetector is mounted on a telescopic mast operable to permit thedetection height to be adjusted as desired when the gate assembly ismounted in a passageway, to accommodate people of different height. 8.The baby gate assembly according to claim 6 wherein a detection angleextends from the horizontal plane up through a conical angle of 60degrees and a detection distance for body temperature is approximately0.5 meter.
 9. The baby gate assembly according to claim 6 wherein saidat least one detector comprises two infra red detectors mounted facingin respective opposite directions on respective opposite sides of thegateway to detect the presence of adults adjacent either side of thegate.
 10. The baby gate assembly according to claim 9 wherein anoperational threshold of detection is one of a predetermined value and avalue derived from a comparison of infra red intensities received byrespective detectors.
 11. The baby gate assembly according to claim 1wherein the person is designated by one of the physical property of awireless transmitter signal and the physical property of a remotelydetectable tag on the person's body.
 12. The baby gate assemblyaccording to claim 1 wherein the person is designated by the physicalproperty of their voice and a voice recognition system is connected tothe detecting and disengaging means and includes a memory circuitmounted on the gate and which can be trained to recognize a particularpersons voice thereby to designate that person.
 13. The baby gateassembly according to claim 1 wherein the U-shaped gateway comprisesopposite vertical gate posts joined by a transverse step, one side edgeof the gate being pivotally mounted to one gate post and the latchingmeans comprising catch means on an opposite, free side edge of the gateand a cooperating catch member mounted on a gate post for movement intoand out from engagement with the catch means.
 14. The baby gate assemblyaccording to claim 13 wherein the catch member on the frame is linkedfor lost motion to both the detecting and disengaging means and thepedal mechanism so that when either one of the detecting and disengagingmeans and the pedal mechanism is operated to move the catch member to anunlocked position, another of the detecting and disengaging means andthe pedal mechanism is not moved with the catch member.
 15. The babygate assembly according claim 14 wherein the pedal mechanism comprises apedal operatively connected to depress one end of a rocking lever andthe catch member comprises a rod formed with an axially extending slotwith a top blind end and mounted for vertical, axial sliding movement onthe gate post and having a lower end aligned over an opposite end of therocking lever, the detecting and disengaging means having a horizontalspigot received in the axially extending slot at the top blind end andfor vertical relative sliding movement, so that operation of thedetecting and disengaging means raises the spigot and thereby the rodaway from the lever to disengage the catch member and unlock the gatewithout moving the pedal mechanism and, so that depression of the pedalrocks the lever to raise the rod to disengage the catch member andunlock the gate, with relative vertical sliding movement of the spigotin the axially extending slot thereby obviating movement of thedetecting and disengaging means.
 16. The baby gate assembly according toclaim 15 wherein, when the spigot is lowered to the latching position,the rod falls under gravity, lowering the catch member on the frame intolatching engagement with the catch means on the gate.
 17. The baby gateassembly according to claim 15 wherein, the detecting and disengagingmeans comprises a reciprocal stepping motor and the spigot is carried bya rack gear plate linked to the motor for vertical reciprocation betweenupper and lower position actuating detecting microswitches.
 18. The babygate assembly according to claim 1 wherein, the frame has wall mountingmeans for width adjustment of the frame, comprising threaded rodsthreadingly mounted on the frame to extend longitudinally from oppositesides so as to be axially extensible by manual rotation to bringrespective free ends of the threaded rods into jamming engagement withopposite walls of a passageway thereby mount the baby gate assembly inpassageways of different widths, doorways or between a wall and stairposts.
 19. The baby gate assembly according to claim 18 wherein lockingthumbwheels are operatively mounted on the threaded rods to preventaccidental rotation of the threaded rods locking them in a selectedaxial position ensuring reliable retention of the bay gate assembly inposition.
 20. The baby gate assembly according to claim 1 wherein thegate comprises a metal frame with a cover of soft fabric removable forreplacement when worn and for cleaning.